Pune emerge TPL champions
Pune Warriors continued their fantastic run as they came back from a 10-point deficit to snatch 46-44 win over Punjab Bulls, in the 2nd Kotak Mahindra Bank Tennis Premier League (TPL) played at the Celebration Club, Andheri.
Pune Warriors were riding high on confidence winning all their games on their road to the finals but it was Punjab Bulls who had the upper hand as they won the Wheelchair, boys U-14 and girls U-18 ties and raced to a 20-10 lead. With two important encounters remaining, all eyes were on Rutuja Bhosale to help Pune get back into the game. After a shaky start, Rutuja hit back to back winners, forcing her opponent Pranjala Yadlapalli to make errors and racing to a 11-5 lead.
Pranajala managed to score a few quick points but Rujuta kept hitting back with her fiery forehand winners securing an 18-12 victory and reducing Pune Warrior's deficit to 4 points for the final tie.
The final tie was the battle of the best with Purav Raja and Siddharth Vishwakarma up against Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Manish Sureshkumar. Purav and Siddharth got off to a great start by winning 4 to level the match scores at 4-0. Jeevan and Manish could not match the sharp skills of Purav and the powerful service game of Siddharth and succumbed to a 12-18 defeat helping Pune Warriors lift the TPL crown.
Results (finals): Pune Warriors bt Punjab Bulls: 46-44 (Wheelchair: Sadashivam lost to Shekar Veeraswamy 37, BD U-14 Arunava Majumdar / Adith Amarnath lost to Aayushman Arjeria / Jasmeet Duhan 4-6; GD U-18: Kaavya Sawhney / Smriti Bhasin lost to Prerna Vichare / Gargi Pawar 37;WS: Rutuja Bhosale bt Pranjala Y 18-12; MD; Purav R / Siddharth V bt Jeevan / Manish 18-12